We are pleased to report that the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township, Michigan, reached another significant milestone in our journey to restart the plant in the fourth quarter of this year. The repowering of Palisades will return 800 megawatts of safe and reliable electricity back to the grid to bolster the country’s domestic energy security and help meet the growing demand for baseload generation. This recent milestone relates to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) issuance of a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on the environment from resumed power operations at Palisades. Specifically, the NRC is considering an exemption request, a license transfer request, and license amendment requests (LARs) to support reauthorizing power operations under the Commission’s license. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) is a cooperating agency on the draft EA. Holtec closed a $1.52 billion loan guarantee with the LPO in September 2024 to support the resumption of power generation activities at Palisades, in addition to significant financial support from the State of Michigan and Holtec International.
To return Palisades to power operations, Holtec has made several regulatory submittals. These include a request for an exemption from the 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2) that currently prohibits operation of the Palisades reactor, or emplacement or retention of fuel into the reactor vessel, this occurred when the plant was defueled and a letter of cession of permanent operations was sent to the NRC. Additionally, a request for a license transfer from Holtec Decommissioning International (currently responsible for decommissioning activities at Palisades) to Palisades Energy, LLC (needed for the latter to operate the reactor). And finally, four License Amendment Requests pertaining to safely returning the reactor to power generation. These requests, along with the NRC earlier determinations that these requests were acceptable for review, are publicly available and have been the subject of public meetings. Pending final regulatory review and approval of the above requests, requested by August of this year, Palisades Energy, LLC, would be allowed to place fuel into the reactor vessel and resume power operations.
The NRC staff has prepared a draft EA and draft FONSI documenting its environmental review of the potential licensing and regulatory approvals which has enabled the Agency to make a preliminary determination that the proposed actions would not significantly affect the quality of the human environment, obviating the need for publication of an environmental impact statement (EIS). NRC’s draft environmental review included fulfillment of their obligations related to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended, (54 U.S.C. 300101, et seq.).
As noted in the draft EA and FONSI, NRC staff will consider comments on the draft EA and draft FONSI over a 30-day public comment period from Federal, State, local, and Tribal officials, and members of the public. After consideration of public comments, the NRC staff will make final determination as to whether a FONSI can be issued for the licensing and regulatory approvals for Palisades.
“We remain confident in our trajectory toward a timely plant restart by the end of this year, pending all necessary federal regulatory reviews and approvals,” said Holtec International President Kelly Trice. “This is a huge credit to our 560-plus-member team of nuclear professionals as well as the hundreds of specialty contractors on site at Palisades who are braving severely inclement weather as they methodically carry out the multitude of project activities with a remarkable show of adherence to Holtec’s standards of safety and quality assurance. Thanks to their dedication and commitment to safety, the project schedule is on track, slightly ahead of target.”
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